Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Zumba

What happens when you get someone who loves aerobic exercises, and dance? Zumba happens. In 1986 a man named Perez started Zumba as result of forgetting his normal work out music tapes to an aerobic class. After some improvisation, Zumba quickly spread into the United States in 2001. Zumba is not just dancing, it can incorporate squats, lunges, and even resistants training! It can be done to slow or fast songs, however it is usually a mixture of both. Zumba has found its place in several markets including studios, videos and now even video games! Its fan base has even grown to celebrities who regularly zumba including Madona and Jennifer Lopez. Since it is labeled as a fun, and great work out; Zumba has taken hold and growing fast in the fitness world. 

Monday, February 13, 2012

Circuit Training

Circuit Training is mixture of resistant and aerobic training, that is usually broken into timed intervals. An example of a work out might consist of 12 stations working out a specific area for 30 seconds, then resting in between each station for 12 seconds (Stations can consist of sprints, burpees, pull-ups, etc.). Did I mention that is only considered one round, and there can be anywhere from two-five! 
Circuit Training can be found in a variety of places, anywhere from Bootcamps, to customized gym, or even that TRX machine made ever so popular from its television ads. It was developed in England by Morgan and Anderson in 1952 as a time efficient way to become healthier and stronger. One of the downsides to circuit training, is it unrealistic to build muscle in bulk. That reason though is also why alot of people choose to circuit train, it allows them to lift without looking like the hulk. 
One of the most recognizable forms of circuit training is P90x. It's fast growing popularity led to hundreds of machines and videos that allowed individuals to bring circuit training into their homes. Ads proclaiming "In just 10 minutes a day, you can look like this!" Although some of the ads may have been misleading, it has been proven that a proper circuit training workout will deliver results. 
 Bobby a circuit trainer from Results Only announced to me "Don't worry, your allowed to curse in this gym and if you don't want to, your doing something wrong." Which follows suit with my description of circuit training, 30 seconds of hell that delivers an amazing work out.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Yoga

King Pigeon
Partner Yoga with lululemons!
Is it possible, an exercise that focuses on a inner discipline and self enlightenment able to be a work out? Yoga was started in India, and became a practice that quickly spread. Although when it originated is highly debated, it is very evident that it has increasingly gained in popularity during recent years. If you ask any “Yogi” (person who breathes yoga) they will say the main point of yoga is not about getting sweaty but inner self improvement. I would like to argue, that improving your exterior will inevitably benefit your overall wellness. The main focus will be on getting sweaty! There are several different types of yoga that enable us to call yoga a work out, Astanga, Bikram, Power, Resortative, Acro, Sumits, and Vinyasa are just a few. For those of you thinking that yoga is not a real workout, here is the challenge; complete one sumits class, or hold a handstand for one minute. Yoga classes are designed to push a persons limits. There is never perfection, and will always continue to challenge an individual. So why is it so popular? It is because the results are unparalleled. Jennifer Aniston, Robert Downey Jr., Russel Simmons, Lady Gaga, and even KeSha have all sworn to the benefits of yoga. The only way to truly find out how amazing yoga is, would be to join the on going trend and attend your first class!


A funny video on how to understand yogis!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Crossfit!

Nate from Core Crossfit
Grace, Helen, Nancy, Karen, Murph, Tabata, Amrap.
Only after a Crossfit class will you be able to understand the meaning of these names. 
WOD (Workout of the Day) is the description of the high-intensity work outs you can find in a Crossfit gym. Murph, for example, consists of running a mile, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 air squats followed by another mile for time. Sound crazy? It is! Luckily, for the majority of people, all WODS can be scaled down to fit anyone.
Recent Crossfit Exercises!





The first Crossfit gym was opened by Greg Glassman in 1995. With a slow start, it grew from 1 to 18 gyms by 2005. Then, just like in every crossfit workout, madness happened.  From 2005-2011 over 1,800 gyms opened. Magazines raved about the work outs and actors proclaimed that Crossfit is how they shape and maintain their bodies! 
Advocates for Crossfit explain that it will transform your body and allow for a healthier life style. The opposition says that Crossfit is not for everyone, that not all bodies can’t handle it, and that individuals can hurt themselves. 
Cerie from Core Crossfit




The only statement I have found to be untrue, is that "Crossfit is not for everyone". It is true, that not all bodies can handle an unmodified workout; however there are several beginning classes and adjustments making it accommodating for everyone. Crossfit trainers are given rigorous training and value form over strength, making sure individuals can’t hurt themselves. If what the opposition said was true, it would be impossible for crossfit to grow with such popularity. Crossfit has found its place in the ever expanding campaign to get healthier.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A short Introduction!

Hello, my name is Corbin Richards.                                                             
                                                                                                                                                       
(I'm somewhere in the middle!)
(Yoga on top of Piestewa Peak!)
I am all about new things, and love a good sweat. I work for a company called lululemon athletica (an athletic clothing store) that is super supportive in all things fitness or really anything in your personal life. Finding this amazing job only increased my love for working out, and made it an addiction of mine to find new ways to sweat. I’ve fallen on the band wagon so many others have. If the massive amounts of studios and gyms weren’t enough to prove this ever growing trend, its time to look to the magazines, web, and television! If you haven’t guessed by now what this blog is about, it’s going to be about getting sweaty or as some would call it, fitness!